Anecdotal evidence, by and large, supports the theory that music has at least some effect on the brain. Existing scientific evidence also suggests that both listening to and creating music can have various positive effects on mood. So much so that Solfeo therapy is an increasingly important area of research.
Areas of mental health explored by music therapy include promoting wellness, facilitating the treatment of symptoms expressed through mental health illnesses and general improvement of quality of life.
A research paper on this topic might focus on how music functions to improve mood or if certain kinds of music are better suited for some activities than others.
It might perhaps even explore whether music therapy intervention as effective as the experts claim for mental health issues. Is it suitable for people of all ages, ethnicities, backgrounds, and, most importantly, is it viable?
For instance, a 2013 study published in the Public Library of Science suggests that listening to music has an impact on the stress response. There might be something to all the anecdata, after all.
The effect of different genres of music on people
In the modern age, there are as many genres of music as the number of boy bands that rise from the fringe every year. Do these genres affect the brain differently? Do some certain genres correlate with specific temperaments? Does the music affect personality or is the choice of music affected by the personality of the person?
The effect of different types of genres of music is a relatively straightforward research topic, albeit a rather wide one. Some may consider this same as studying how it affects mental health, and anyone so inclined might even merge the two topics, but this is wide enough to be done on its own.
